Chrome sockets with CAT6 inserts - where to buy?

Tenshot

We're nearly ready to do second fix electrics on our house rennovation, and we're planning on going with satin chrome (or similar) for all the electrical fittings - raised, rather than the super-thin ones that seem to be in vogue at the moment; the thin ones are really hard to get a clean finish on after painting/plastering.

All the data cabling (44 runs of it) is CAT6, so naturally I'd like to ensure proper CAT6 sockets are used to terminate it in each room. However, I'm having a lot of trouble finding a supplier that does chrome plates with CAT6 inserts.

Has anyone done this recently, and if so, where did you get your sockets from?

(At this point, I'm close to giving up and just going with white sockets everywhere...)

Thanks,

Eddy

fishdog

Try Euroslaes, Kellihers or NEW. Numbers in sticky thread above.

the thin ones are really hard to get a clean finish on after painting/plastering.

No, on the GET flat plate the plates click off (they are only cosmetic) and you can click them all on when painting is finished. I dont know if they do CAT 6

At this point, I'm close to giving up and just going with white sockets everywhere...

This may be a better idea than you think! Stuff like the MK logic plus range can look great in simple white and the quality is great. Polished or satin chrome can be poor quality (sometimes), very expensive, give problems with stuff like dimmers, scratch and mark easily. I bought "Hamilton" polished stuff before in Eurosales. It looked very well, but in reality was only OK quality. The dimmers did not all work! I dont know if they do CAT 6 stuff. Having said that the job looked smart and the customer was happy.

sunnysoutheast

hi - we got the Deta flatplate brushed chrome suitable for black inserts and the MK CAT5e modules (model numbers for CAT6 below).

Just make sure you order the correct (white/black) as there is a little trim around the aperture for the modules to click into.

The MK modules are expensive but are easier to punch down than the standard white ones I bought for upstairs, just better quality I think.

Didn't have an issue with decoration TBH, I think Deta do "standard" sockets in brushed chrome too.

All was from CEF in Waterford.

Got your toner, punch tool, line tester etc.?

SSE


Description Price


MK K5846-WHI RJ45 cat-6 Euro datacom module (white) £15.00


MK K5846-BLK RJ45 cat-6 Euro datacom module (black) £15.00

Stoner

I've got the MK edge sockets in my place and yes they are too thin as are the GET ones, however there is an MK aspect range that is slim , but with a small lip to forgive bad plaster finishes.

with your data outlets, just make sure you get the MK euro blank plate, then any data solution should fit it up to Cat 6 anyway. Whatever data solution you go with should have matching cable and outlets, so all you need from the likes of MK is the blank plates to match, IMHO its a waste of money getting MK data outlets as the specialist stuff is better and about the same price (if not cheaper)

bro'

Hi Tenshot
check out
http://www.buy-electrical.co.uk/enter.html?lang=en-uk&target=d93.html

I see that the prices have increased since I bought from them nearly two years ago! I bought the CAT5 outlets amongst other things and happy with quality.

northdublin

i used bg nexus flat plate range in my own house and a few others. found the quallity very good and the screwless range sits well on most walls. the plates can be removed from the front to allow for painting without having to remove the whole fixture.
http://www.bgelectrical.co.uk/

Tenshot

That's great info folks - many thanks. I'll check them out and see which ones my better half likes the look of. Good advice re the MK/Euro blank plates.

To answer SSE's question, I have all the installation tools ready to go (I've done a fair bit of data cabling for friends & family in their own house building projects, so hopefully I have the hang of it by now).

The 19" rack for the attic arrived yesterday - it's 19U high and a bit of a beast. We're doing an attic conversion, and I've left room in the eaves to set it back so that the front will be flush with the wall (behind a smoked glass door). Apart from all the CAT6 terminations and outside services, it will be housing an A-BUS multi-room audio system, assorted amps & music equipment, and a couple of rack-mount servers, plus the usual routers & network switches.

I anticipate my Christmas holidays this year will feature a lot of cabling...

.G.

Legrand do chrome plates and inserts too.

www.legrand.ie

sunnysoutheast

Tenshot - good luck with all that. Make sure it's surge protected :-)

I put in the Sonos multiroom audio incidentally, all wired. Very happy with it.

SSE

Tenshot

Just to close off this thread, I finally found some CAT6 sockets in black plastic, set in a stainless steel metal wallplate, from Temple Sales. Good price, and they tone in pretty well with the satin chrome plugs & light switches.

I've finished installing all the wall sockets at this stage, and it was a fair bit trickier than I expected (around 50 points in total). Very little play on most of the cables, since they are coming down ducting in block walls rather than stud walls, so I had to be very careful with lengths etc.

All the sockets are angled at 45 degrees rather than flush to the wall, since this makes it much easier to keep the bend radius for the cable coming out of the ducting to within CAT6 limits. This does make it more challenging on the installation front, however. On the plus side, the modules terminate directly onto the cable end, only clicking into the sockets on the wallplate after you've completed the termination.

After killing myself on the first four (took me nearly two hours to terminate them in accordance with spec), I decided life was too short and started stripping off more of the outer coating, to allow a bit more flexibility to bend cables within the wall socket. Made a big difference in installation time, but there's a reasonable chance it may no longer be fully CAT6 compliant.

Once I get the patch panel wired up, in another week or two, I'd be keen to run some proper tests on it to know how close (or otherwise) I got to full CAT6 performance.

Does anyone know somewhere that rents Fluke 4100s or similar at affordable prices (read, less than several hundred euros a day)?

Stoner

Have you used a tester before? I know of similar testers that are available to rent for less than the cost you have been quoted. However I honestly think that if you have not used a meter before It would be cheaper to get someone in who will test all the points and give you a disk with the test results on it. You could get a pro in to test and be in and out in less than a day. For example Agilent have some nice CAT 6 test units, but you could end up fluting around with one if you have no training. I dont know what level you are at, you could be well up on these units I'm just making a suggestion.

Best of luck with it,

Tenshot

Stoner wrote: »

For example Agilent have some nice CAT 6 test units, but you could end up fluting around with one if you have no training. I dont know what level you are at, you could be well up on these units I'm just making a suggestion.

Thanks for the comments Stoner.

My interest is as much to become familiar with the equipment and procedures, as it is to validate my own house -- I do periodic cabling jobs (non-commercial) that often use existing wiring that would be expensive to replace, and having the skills to quickly trouble-shoot such scenarios is something I'd find very useful. My own background is engineering, and I'm familiar with typical lab equipment (scopes, DSLAMs, etc.) so I don't envisage any trouble figuring out how to use the kit.

If you can suggest some lower cost alternatives to the Fluke that will still give decent cross-talk and similar measurements (basically, to identify whether a particular cable run is up to some minimum level of acceptability, over and above a straight continuity test) then I'd definitely keep an eye out on eBay to pick up a cheap one. Are there particular Agilent units you'd recommend?

Cheers,

Eddy

Stoner

well we use the wirescope pro model, it's a level 3 tester and is is expensive, but you could try to rent something from Wood Communications, you shold get something rented for under 100 euro (I think)

BaconZombie

The Best places to check to get high quality Cat6 equipment are :

Wood Communications

Black Box Ireland

darren atticastatic

removed again

OP there is suppliers list here.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=67859645&posted=1#

Regards

Stoner